Oven-Baked Chicken Breasts with Lemon-Mustard Arugula Salad

Before a revolution breaks out, we want to assure you that we still think real fried chicken—soaked in buttermilk and fried in peanut oil until its crispy—is the gold standard. But there's no denying that in the past 20 years two factors have had a huge influence on how we cook: speed and healthfulness. Oven-baked chicken satisfies on both counts, offering a crispy, tasty coating and moist meat with less fat and fewer calories. Plus, it's quick enough to make on a Tuesday night. Add a light, bright arugula salad and youve got dinner.

Position 1 rack in top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 450°F. Drizzle 1/2 tablespoon melted butter over each breast. Place 1 baking sheet on top rack and second sheet on bottom rack.

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Once rediscovering this recipe in my personal recipe box, I've since made this three times in the past month, each time with a whole chicken cut up into 10 pieces. Baked on one sheet pan, not two. Simply cannot overstate how much I love the flavors, the crunchiness, and the relative ease of preparation once the marinade and crumb coating are assembled. Do plan ahead, though, and allow to marinate at least 4 hours in the fridge.

This is a superb way to get the satisfying crunch of fried chicken without the deep-frying. Both the buttermilk marinade and the crumb coating are packed with flavor. I used a whole organic chicken cut up into 10 pieces (2 thighs, 2 drums, 2 wings, and the breast halves each cut in half again). There was plenty of crumb coating for it all, and this required only one baking sheet with a rack, not the two specified in the recipe. Definitely worth the advance prep. Leftovers reheated beautifully in my countertop convection oven for about 15 minutes.

This is a superb way to get the satisfying crunch of fried chicken without the deep-frying. Both the buttermilk marinade and the crumb coating are packed with flavor. I used a whole organic chicken cut up into 10 pieces (2 thights, 2 drums, 2 wings, and the breast halves each cut in half again). There was plenty of crumb coating for it all, and this required only one baking sheet with a rakc, not the two specified in the recipe. Definitely worth the advance prep. Leftovers reheated beautifully in my countertop convection oven for about 15 minutes.

Ohhhhh yeah. This one's a bit of work...but it was TOTALLY worth it. I do not like chicken with bones, so I made the chicken with boneless, skinless breasts and then followed the recipe to a T. Loved the coating - fresh Parmesan cheese makes everything better! The arugula salad was fresh and yummy, and we fought over the leftovers for our lunch the next day.

Very tasty, moist on the inside, crunchy on the outside. I did need to lower the temperature, as it browned too quickly. Also, a lot of splattering in the oven so had to open the door and let out the smoke every 5 minutes!

this is probably the best meal i've made off of epicurious, tbh. modifications that i made: i used skinless chicken breast and regular bread crumbs because i already had a huge container of them that i was never going to use. the flavors of this chicken dish are FLAWLESS. it has just the right amount of everything. given the modes that i made, my chicken probably didn't turn out as crispy as it was supposed to and i probably should have skipped the butter drizzle, but i didn't even care-- THAT'S how good it tasted. the dressing for this salad has an extra zip to it and i LOVE that. i had two helpings tonight... which totally negates the purpose of leaving the skin off, but whatevs!

Easy to make and delicious! I put the chicken in the marinade in the morning before going to work, then my husband was able to finish the chicken and make the salad in the evening! We both like the chicken but thought the salad was the best part of the meal.

I was looking for a fried chicken alternative and this chicken is flavorful enough to fit the bill.
I started making the recipe before I realized it had to marinate overnight so I only marinated my 6 thighs for 30 minutes or so which was fine. I will do it longer next time - for chicken breasts I imagine it is more important.
I used dried thyme and put too much so, if you are using dried just be aware - the thyme was too strong IMO. I also used half the cayenne which turned out great.
My teenage daughter and I loved this - will definitely make it again as an alternative to fried.

I made this for my 3yo's bday dinner (8 adults and 4 kids), so I doubled it. It was extremely well-received by all ages, super moist and flavourful. I did a 19-hr marinade. NOTE: this was not the fastest dinner combo I've ever made, so I'd consider it more of a Sat or Sun meal rather than "quick-enough for TUE dinner", but I have little ones. I had 6 VERY LARGE boneless breasts (+/- 3# ea) and 6 organic boneless/skinless thigh pieces as I dislike bones in my chicken. Knowing we'd have some young palates, I left the tiniest hint of cayenne out of the recipe. I tasted it in dry form and personally loved it, but was still a little worried some children would think it was spicy, however it was perfect for everyone. I DEF recommend putting foil under the racks, as I did as an after thought. I wanted to put potato coins below the racks as another reviewer suggested, but didn't and glad because there was some charcoaling from the butter and addt'l coating I'd tossed on missed areas. Instead I paired this with yukon gold potatoes using the super fast "Garlic Thyme potatoes" recipe from this site, which fast and super yummy. SALAD: Amazing! I also doubled it and we needed it tripled for the headcount. I dressed the salad lightly and had nearly half left over (I think it would have swamped it if I'd added it all). Additions to the salad could be toasted, sliced almonds and chunks of avocado to use here or as an anytime salad. Dressing was raved about.

Fabulous! Superb! The chicken came out perfectly with loads of flavor. This is a great variation of fried chicken. (For those die-hard traditional fried chicken lovers: this recipe won't cut it. But for those who are fine with an oven-baked version, this is the tops!!!)

Great and easy. I only marinated the chicken (skinless and boneless) for a few hours. The dressing is great and fresh thyme is important. Panko mixture is great but if you have a spice aversive crowd - thyme, cheese, panko, salt and pepper are great on their own.

This was just terrific! The chicken was so tender and the flavor was perfect. I didn't change the recipe at all. I did, however have to tent the breasts with foil for an additional 5 minutes of cooking as the edges were getting over browned. I served it to a group and everyone loved it. Even the kids liked it.It went great with Mashed potatoes.

This dish was delicious! I marinated the chicken breasts for a full 24 hours. The chicken was tender and flavorful, and we loved the crispy coating! Definitely a "do-over". The buttermilk biscuits I made to accompany the chicken and the salad complemented the meal perfectly.

Great recipe - not really quick - but everyone thought it was delicious and could be served to company
Used skinless breasts and went heavy on the coating - very moist and perfect doneness with 40 minutes

I made this using boneless, skinless
chicken breasts to eliminate some
fat and calories. Otherwise I
followed recipe exactly. The coating
did stick to the rack (probably
because the chicken was skinless) so
I will brush the rack with olive oil
next time. The bit of coating that
fell off the chicken I just threw
into the salad, I sliced the breasts
on the diagonal and served on top of
the salad, and the whole thing was
delicious! Will definitely make
again!

Nice and easy weekday meal. I like the spicy crust. I prefer to coat the chicken in a second dish so I don't end up with soggy coating for the last few breasts. I also cut the breasts in half because the chicken breasts I get from my local poultry farm tend to be on the larger side.